Begum Shamshad
Shamshad Begum (Urdu: شمشاد بیگم, IAST: Śamśād Bēgam; 14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013) was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and range, she sang over 6,000 songs in Hindustani, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, and Punjabi languages, among which 1287 were Hindi film songs. She worked with renowned composers of the time, such as Ghulam Haider who first discovered her. She also worked with Naushad Ali and O. P. Nayyar, for whom she was one of their favorites. Her songs from the 1940s to the early 1970s remain popular and continue to be remixed. |
Birth and Death Data: Born April 14, 1919 (Lahore (capital of the Punjab province, Pakistan)), Died April 23, 2013 (Mumbai (capital city in Maharashtra, India) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1932 - 1952
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gramophone | 0JW265 | 10-in. | June 1947 | Bachpan ke din (बचपन के दिन) | Lata Mangeshkar (लता मंगेशकर) ; Begum Shamshad | Female vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Gramophone | 0JW651 | 10-in. | June 1947 | Chaman mein rahke virāna (चमन में रहके वीराना) | Begum Shamshad | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Gramophone | 0MK844 | 10-in. | June 1932 | Meri ammi ka rāj bhala (मेरी अम्मी का राज भला) | Begum Shamshad | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Gramophone | 0JW3189 | 10-in. | March 1952 | Pī ke ghar āj (पी के घर आज) | Begum Shamshad | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Gramophone | 0ML5613 | 10-in. | June 1947 | Duniya badal gayi (दुनिया बदल गयी) | Talat Mahmūd ; Begum Shamshad | Female-male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Gramophone | 0ML5616 | 10-in. | June 1947 | Kisī ke dil mein (किसी के दिल में) | Lata Mangeshkar (लता मंगेशकर) ; Begum Shamshad | Female vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Gramophone | 0JE8536 | 10-in. | March 1952 | Leke pehlā pehlā pyār (लेके पहला पहला प्यार) | Asha Bhosle (आशा भोसले ) ; Mohammed Rafi (मुहम्मद रफ़ी) ; Begum Shamshad | Female-male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Columbia (U.K.) | CEI26691 | 10-in. | September 1936 | Jab usne gesu bhikrāyen (जब उसने गेसू बिखराये) | Begum Shamshad | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Columbia (U.K.) | CEI50735 | 10-in. | June 1948 | Tabiyat sāf ho gayi sāf (तबियत साफ़ हो गयी साफ़) | Mohammed Rafi (मुहम्मद रफ़ी) ; Chitalkar Rāmchandra ; Begum Shamshad | Female and male vocal solos, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Shamshad Begum," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/368847.
Shamshad Begum. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/368847.
"Shamshad Begum." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Shamshad Begum
Discogs: Begum Shamshad
Allmusic: Begum Shamshad
IMDb: Begum Shamshad
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Shamshad Begum, 1919-2013 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2005207125
Wikidata: Shamshad Begum - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q3764762
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/6812945
MusicBrainz: Shamshad Begum - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b7d84882-1811-4d9f-b2ef-bf98d5075011
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